You can't say "Rooney's game gradually faded with age", without asking the same questions that you're applying to Miky... First Ferguson and then Van Gall both took liberties with Rooneys willingness to play anywhere... they contributed just as much as anything to Rooneys burn out... at other clubs, Rooney would have been the focal point of the attack, whether at 9 or 10, and his game would have benefited...

Rooney still has to take responsibility for a lot of his decline... but at the very least, you could ask if Ferguson and Van Gall sucked a lot of the fun out of the game, for a played who thrived on playing from the heart...

"Badges, to god-damned hell with badges! We have no badges. In fact, we don't need badges. I don't have to show you any stinking badges, you god-damned cabrón and ching' tu madre! Come out from that shit-hole of yours. I have to speak to you."

Yeah Alf, Fergie, Moyes, Gaal and Mourinho have sucked some of the life out of Rooney's game. But it also coincided with a natural decline in his game, after 14 years as a pro at the highest most intense level.